Steven Kirtus Stricker, 62, of Kingfisher pleaded not guilty Wednesday in Kingfisher County District Court to felony charges of first-degree murder with deliberate intent and desecration of a human corpse for his alleged role in the death and dismemberment of his live-in girlfriend early this month.

Stricker was arrested Friday, April 5, by Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agents at the Kingfisher Police Department and has been incarcerated since then in the Kingfisher County Jail on a $5 million bond.

Stricker allegedly told investigators in an April 5 interview that he had argued with his girlfriend, Brenda Baber, 56, at their residence at 421 W. Sheridan Ave. in the early morning hours of April 3, when Baber fell into the bathtub, hit her head and died, according to the probable cause affidavit signed by OSBI Agent Rachell Savory.

Stricker said he used a kitchen knife to dismember Baber’s body in the bathroom of their residence, burned her remains in the fireplace and then disposed of the ashes in the garbage, according to the affidavit.

Even as Stricker was being interviewed, a team of 10 investigators from the police department, OSBI and state medical examiner’s office were unearthing what they believed to be Baber’s remains from the backyard and garden of the couple’s home.

KPD began investigating Baber’s disappearance on Thursday, April 4, after a call from Baber’s sister, Ellen Samuels of Cushing, reporting that Baber had called April 2 and asked for her help moving out of her Kingfisher home.

The sisters made plans to do that two days later while Stricker was at work as a cook at a local restaurant, according to Samuels’ statements to Kingfisher police officers.

Samuels told police that she went to her sister’s home on April 4 and no one answered the door, although Samuels believed Stricker was inside.

Samuels also told police that her sister and Stricker had a history of domestic violence and Baber told Samuels that if she ever comes up missing to call the police, Samuels said.

An online search of court records showed Stricker had pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges of domestic abuse in Kingfisher County District Court in 2011, for which he received suspended sentences.

A third allegation of misdemeanor domestic violence in 2012 triggered a motion to revoke Stricker’s suspended sentences and he was ordered to serve 90 days in jail.

Kingfisher Police Chief Dennis Baker said his department had investigated no recent reports of domestic altercations involving Stricker and Baber.

When police conducted a welfare check at the home on April 4, Stricker was there and told officers that Baber had been home in bed when he left for work but was gone when he arrived home and he did not know where she was, according to the police report.

Police were told that Baber suffered from lupus and COPD, a chronic lung disease, and could not drive or walk without assistance. Her walker and recently filled medicines were still in the home, as was her dog, according to the report.

A neighbor told police April 4 that Stricker allegedly had been burning something in his backyard fire pit over the last few days and also had been “messing around in the garden,” which the neighbor found odd since the house was slated to be purchased and demolished as part of the city’s flood buyout program, according to the police report.

Stricker’s sister also contacted police on the evening of April 4 and allegedly reported that Stricker had called her about 6 p.m. that night and repeated several times that “we lost Brenda,” according to the report.

Stricker also allegedly told Blanchard that he used to work as a butcher and he knows how to get rid of a body and that “a fireplace works miracles,” according to the report.

Blanchard told police that Stricker allegedly had threatened to kill Baber in the past if “she ever left him and took his stuff” and Baber had allegedly told Blanchard that she was going to leave Stricker.

Authorities obtained a search warrant April 5 for the house, yard and outbuildings and spent about 10 hours collecting evidence at the scene, Baker said.

Inside the home, investigators found evidence of “a large amount of blood in the bathroom,” which appeared to have been diluted in a possible cleanup effort, Baker said.

Investigators also unearthed “a large amount of bone fragments” in the garden area and around the adjacent alleyway and outbuildings, Baker said.

Some of the fragments appeared to be from the cranium of the victim, Baker said, and all have been sent to the medical examiner’s office for identification.

The medical examiner is still working on a positive identification through DNA analysis, according to an OSBI statement released last week.

Stricker appeared in court Wednesday without an attorney, but is due back in court at 1:30 p.m. April 23 and has been approved for court-appointed counsel.